Heatherzart on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/heatherzart/art/Liekos-282437714Heatherzart

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Liekos

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Published:
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Description

Scratchboard and Ink
16" x 20"

I don't get to draw wolves very much, I haven't been able to get many decent reference photos of them but I'd like to do more. This wolf is a gray wolf living at the Athens Zoo in Greece (hence the name 'Liekos' greek for wolf in case you were wondering). I went on a Mediterranean cruise in 2011 and instead of visiting the typical tourist attractions there I instead chose to rent a cab and drive the 60 km outside the city to the zoo. It was the best decision and by far my favorite day of the whole cruise. What strikes me the most about wolves is how eerily they are like dogs. Especially in captivity where they tend to be lounging or sleeping. This young male rolled in the grass, stretched just like a waking dog would and then gave me this pose. It's very subtle but when he turned his head, the eye on the right closed ever so slightly, being moved by the rolls of fur and skin bunching up and it's something I've seen on my own dogs a hundred times. It makes for an interesting dichotomy, the left side is alert, all wolf - dangerous, wild, predatory; the right side is calm, relaxed, and almost inviting of a scratch behind the ear. It's subtle but I think it's there.

New file from professional photographer, color and detail are spot on and added the watermark.
Image size
1200x965px 678.52 KB
Make
Better Light
Model
Model Super6k
Shutter Speed
1/81 second
ISO Speed
200
Date Taken
Nov 1, 2012, 6:29:45 PM
© 2012 - 2024 Heatherzart
Comments80
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SunStateGalleries's avatar
:star::star::star::star-half::star-empty: Overall
:star::star::star::star-empty::star-empty: Vision
:star::star::star::star::star-empty: Originality
:star::star::star::star::star-empty: Technique
:star::star::star::star::star-empty: Impact

I really am glad you are branching out to other species of predator, not just big cats! Love the colors you chose for the eye as well (:

Vision: To me, there seems to be just a tad bit too much negative space in the lower left corner, it looks like you should have the forearm extending down, just to give more of a hint he is laying. Right now the pose looks more of a mix of him standing and looking back, but his fur tells you he is on the ground. The shoulder and back fad nicely into the background, giving contrast to the bold lighting on the rest of the body. You are correct about the eye, though it is meant to be squinting, had you have not started that in the description, I would have thought it was just odd perspective and the right is smaller than the left. Closer inspection shows that if it were perspective, the right ear should be lower as well. The fluidity is getting there, and with more canine practice it should be a piece of cake!

Originality: While it is a nice pose, and he looks as if he is smiling, the right ear fur does not follow down the neck as well as it should. It looks a little more "pasted on" compared to the left ear, which has more depth.

Technique: As always, the fur detail and the strokes are almost flawless. I do feel that a little more variation of swirls in the fur should be included, and maybe longer strokes where the lower shoulder meets the neck fur. There does not seem to be enough "rolls" of the skin, but it might have just been the photo you were looking at! (:

Impact: Overall, a very good job for a primarily feline scratchboard artist. The color spectrum has nice variance, the whiskers look alive, and the head is nicely positioned. Excellent job! (: